[chipotle_coyote]

> which if I recall correctly requires you to basically outsmart your OS to install software using the GUI.

This feels a little overstated to me; the first time I run a GUI app that was downloaded from somewhere other than the App Store, I get asked "this was downloaded from foobar.com, are you sure you want to run it?" and click "Yes". I definitely wouldn't call that a "strict walled garden" comparable to the iOS App Store; if anything, I wish Gatekeeper existed on iOS the way it does on the Mac. (A few years ago I was half-expecting that to happen, as naive as it might sound: it seemed like it was a great solution to allowing sideloading while still letting Apple maintain some level of control, but it's become clear Apple still looks at iOS devices as more like game consoles than general purpose computers. It's possible it might yet happen to stave off antitrust concerns, I suppose.)